Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale

by Beard, Stephen J.

  Something changed in Samantha right then. I don’t know if it was the final realization of what was happening around us or sadness that this was hurting me so much. I never did ask. She laid her head on my chest.

  “Thank you, Ryan. For keeping us safe. I’ve never loved you more than I do right this minute, Ryan Knight. I’m sorry that this is happening and I’m sorry that it’s hurting you. But, thank you for protecting us.”

  “Always.”

  Mike and his mother came back into the garage. She was crying pretty loudly. It was understandable but she needed to be inside now. I could see the indecision in Mike’s eyes.

  “Sam, Karen, please help Mike and Lois as much as you can. Mike, take as long as you need. I’ll lock up the bus. He’ll be safe while I dig the grave out back.”

  “I’ll come help you,” said Mike.

  “No, stay with your mother,” I said. “The living are more important right now. Come out back only when you’re ready.”

  I went out to close up the bus, breaking my own rules. I should’ve had a lookout, especially now after what happened. Back in the garage, I closed the door and grabbed my two shovels. I had to take care of Michael and I also had to be quick. The bus full of supplies would make a great target if someone was looking. Before leaving the garage though, I opened the door into the house and called for Thor. He was happy to come out back with me.

  Despite being in a hurry, I threw the tennis ball for Thor every few minutes. The dog was beside himself with happiness at chasing the ball. There was no reason that the zombie apocalypse had to me hard on the dog. And it gave me a chance to smile.

  Mike came out about 30 minutes later and grabbed a shovel. He went straight to work on the grave.

  “How’s your mother?”

  “A little better. She seems to be getting angry rather than sad, though.”

  “Who’s she angry at?” I asked.

  “Not you,” Mike said. “Or me. She’s just angry at the situation.”

  “That could be good, I guess. How are you?”

  “Also pretty fucking angry. Sorry…”

  “Hey, you just lost your dad. You can be pretty fucking angry if you want. I’m pretty fucking angry myself. Just try not to say it in front of the kids, okay?”

  “Okay, I just thought the zombies were bad enough. I don’t want to have to kill survivors.”

  “I don’t want to either,” I said. “But, I want to stay alive and keep my family alive. So, I’m gonna do what’s necessary to come home to my family.”

  “I get that, Ryan. I do. But I shot that guy today because I was angry. That, I don’t feel good about.”

  “We both fired out of anger at those guys. And maybe they all had families, too. But they tried to kill us today Mike. And they succeeded in getting one of us. There was no way I was going to let them go so they could try again. I do not regret what we did. That doesn’t make it easy or right. But it was necessary.”

  “Yeah, I see that.”

  “Good, dig for a bit.”

  A few more throws of the ball made Thor happy enough to bark several times. I hadn’t meant to do that. Sure enough, a couple of minutes went by and 3 zombies came into the neighbor’s yard and staggered up to the fence.

  “All we need,” I said. “Is another fence over there next to that house and that‘ll keep them away from here. It would make us a little safer.” Mike looked over and nodded.

  “Shouldn’t be too hard to put up a fence with all the stuff that’s lying around.” He pointed to the zombies. “You want a hand?”

  “Nah, I got this. And I need the practice apparently.”

  I took my time killing the 3 zombies. They couldn’t climb over the fence and 3 weren’t gonna to push it over, either. So, it was more like target practice. I hit all 3 without missing then hopped the fence to collect the bolts. A few more throws for Thor then I picked up the shovel and went back to work. Thirty minutes later we were done.

  “You and your mom decide what you want to wrap him in. We could use a blanket from our house if you’d like or grab one from next door. Or, maybe you have something in the RV?”

  Mike went back into the house with Thor and me on his heels. Sam and Karen were sitting on the sofa with Lois. It looked like they were taking good care of her. Mike went over and sat down on the floor in front of the sofa. She did her best to smile down at him.

  “All done?” she asked.

  “Yeah, Mom. We just have to decide what to wrap him in.”

  “We’ve been talking about that. If it’s all right with you, there’s a blanket in the RV that we brought from home. The quilt that your grandmother made. I think he’d like that.”

  “That’s fine with me, mom.”

  “I’ll go and take care of that.”

  “No, Ryan. Thank you. That’s my job. Mine and my son’s. I would like very much if you would watch over us.”

  “I will.”

  I went first, raising the garage door slowly to keep the noise down. The front was clear. Mike and Lois came out next and went to the RV. When they came out of the RV Lois had a beautiful patchwork quilt. Michael’s mother had indeed put a lot of work into that. I opened the driver’s side door to the bus and reached in to toggle the passenger door. Then I closed the door quietly and stepped away.

  Without so many humans, the world was beautifully quiet. It was strangely quiet at first but I had come to appreciate the lack of noise. But, not today. Today it was too quiet. I could hear Lois singing a hymn softly while crying. I had been in the church choir as a boy but that had only been because my mother made me. And, it was a long time ago. My mother was surely dead now. Or a zombie, which was almost the same. Still, the cry laced hymn and Lois’ dedication to her husband brought tears to my eyes.

  I sensed movement and turned to see Lois exiting the bus and coming around the front towards me.

  “Ryan, can you help Mike carry him?”

  “Of course, Lois.”

  I handed her my crossbow and ducked into the bus. Mike and I carried Michael’s body through the garage and into the backyard next to the grave. We laid him gently on the grass. I went back into the garage and found that Lois had already closed the passenger door to the bus and was closing the garage door as well, even in her grief. I turned to find Sam at the door to the house.

  “Is it time?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “My mom is going to play with the kids while we’re out back. I want to keep… all this… from them as long as possible.”

  I nodded. We held hands as we walked into the backyard near the shed where Mike and I had dug the grave. I stopped suddenly and shuddered. Sam must have seen something in my eyes that she didn’t like.

  “What, Ryan? You look terrified suddenly.”

  “It’s just that… I had an image pass through my mind’s eye. But it’s gone now.”

  “What was it?” she asked.

  “More graves back here near the shed. Like a family plot or plantation graveyard.”

  Sam didn’t know what to say and she just looked into my eyes. I thought she was searching for something but I wasn’t looking at her. Not really. I was looking past her at the graves in my mind.

  “Ryan, I hope we survive all this and generations later the image you saw comes true. But, not because we’re dead. Because we lived. And you and I are buried here. And Tabby and Mal. But because we lived long lives full of love and we never left our home.”

  The thought was mildly comforting and I managed a little smile for her. I had no beautiful illusions like that though. We walked to the other side of the grave from Lois and Mike.

  “I’d like to say a few words, Ryan,” Lois said.

  I just nodded. Lois took a deep breath and turned her face toward the heavens.

  “Dear Lord, I know that we don’t talk much but I hope that you can see in my heart that I am a believer. Michael was a good man, a worthy husband and a patient father. He did his best and that is all
anybody can ask of a person. I loved him very much and I will miss him very much. Please take him into your arms and grant him everlasting peace in these trying times. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

  Lois looked over to her son who shook his head. We all grieve in our own way and I thought Mike was handling this very well considering what we’ve all been through. Lois then looked at me. I hadn’t planned on talking. This wasn’t my kind of thing but I found myself nodding back and clearing my throat anyway.

  “If you had asked me just a few weeks ago if I had ever believed that something like this could happen, I’d probably have laughed at you. And yet, here we are at, what could be the very end of the world fighting for our very survival. It’s hard to believe that I’ve only known you folks for just over 24 hours. But, we’ve all been through so much in such a short amount of time. Michael stepped up and did what was needed to protect his family. You can’t ask anything more of a person. His death will not only be felt by your family but by my family, our family as well. I am truly sorry for your loss and I am happy to have known Michael.”

  “Thank you, Ryan.”

  “Thanks, Ryan,” added Mike.

  I nodded toward Michael’s head and Mike moved to his father’s feet. We reached down and grabbed our ends of the body and lifted. A few side steps later we placed Michael down into the hole, getting on our knees to do so.

  Lois reached down and carefully took a handful of dirt. She got down on her knees and whispered a few words to her husband that I couldn’t hear. Then she gently sprinkled the dirt onto his body. Then she stood and patiently waited for Mike to do the same. When he was done, Mike led his mother back into the house.

  Sam and I grabbed the two shovels and silently covered the body. It only took a few minutes to fill the hole which had taken so long to dig. After, I leaned on the shovel and stared down at the grave. Sam came over and put her hand on my shoulder as Thor laid at our feet.

  “We’re gonna need a marker of some kind,” she said.

  “We can work on that tonight, if Lois wants us to.”

  “Okay, that works.” I put my arms around my wife and pulled her tightly to me. “I don’t want to do this again.”

  “What can we do differently?” she asked.

  “I don’t know yet. But we need to unload the bus for starters. Then I want to move it. It draws attention.”

  We picked up our crossbows and carried our shovels back into the garage. I opened the door quietly and looked out front. Clear. After toggling the passenger door, we went into the bus. Sam looked down at the blood on the floor.

  “We’ll have to clean that up.”

  “Damn, yeah I forgot. Gimme a minute. Keep an eye out.”

  I went back into the garage and emerged with some rags and some cleaner. A few minutes later there was no longer any evidence of Michael’s death on the floor of the bus. I was not sure if that was good or bad.

  “Where are we gonna put all this,” asked Sam. “You guys got a lot and that’s great. Don’t get me wrong. But, it’s a lot of supplies. Should we move the Land Cruiser and put it in the garage.”

  “No, no way,” I said. “It’s important that we keep the Land Cruiser in the garage so we can load it safely in case something really bad happens and we have to leave in a hurry. We’ll have to stack this in the craft room.”

  “Okay. Is it alright if I get my mom and the kids to help out here? They can be lookouts. I want to protect them but they have really been wanting to help.”

  “That’s fine,” I said. “Armed though. Let Mal have his knife and let Tabby bring her crossbow.”

  “All right. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  When Sam came back out, everyone came with her.

  “Lois, Mike, you guys don’t have to do this.”

  “My husband gave his life so that we could have these supplies. The least I could do is help finish the job.”

  I nodded. What could I say? She was right and we needed the help. If she still needed to grieve she could do it in her own way.

  “Well then, here’s the plan. Karen, Mal and Tabby, I am really glad that you guys could come out and help.” I reached down and ruffled Mal’s hair then gave Tabby a hug. I’ve not really seen much of them in the last 24 hours.

  “I know that Mal and Tab could do the lookouts on their own, but after this morning I want a gun out here at all times. So, Karen, stay with the kids. Crossbows only for zombies.”

  She nodded.

  “The rest of us are carrying. The water and food is going to the back room that we used for a crafts. Is Thor in the house?”

  “No,” said Sam. “I put him out back when we came out.”

  “Good, then we can leave the door open. Crap, I forgot. Sam, can you get us started? I have something for Karen.”

  As Sam got the task started, I opened the driver’s side door and reached behind the seat for the walkie-talkies. After putting batteries in one and setting it to the right channel, I handed it to Karen.

  “Call out if it’s something you can’t handle. If it’s one or two zombies, just deal with it. But, don’t hesitate if you need help.”

  When I went into the bus to start carrying water, I was grateful that Sam reminded me to clean up the floor. This was already a difficult task in what was a difficult day. It took an hour with the four of us carrying stuff to unload everything. When it was done we gathered at the bus.

  “Christ, I’m hungry,” I said. “All we ate today at the Costco was a few granola bars.”

  “It’s catching up to me, too,” said Mike. “Wish they would have had some of those great hot dogs waiting for us.”

  “Damn, I forgot about those. I’m gonna miss them in the zombie apocalypse.”

  “Don’t get too far down memory lane, fellas,” said Sam. “There’s nothing good down that way. Focus on what we have now.”

  “You’re right, honey. I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll go get dinner started. Early dinner is a good idea now that we’re getting up with the sun. We need to get to bed earlier, too.”

  No argument from me,” I said. “Mike, can I get you to come with me? I want to move the bus a few doors down.”

  “Sure.”

  “Can I go, too?” asked Tabby.

  “Me too, Dad,” said Mal.

  Sam looked concerned.

  “We can’t hide them from all of this forever,” I said.

  “I know,” Sam said. “Just be careful.”

  “We will. I want to ride around the neighborhood and see what is going on. But, we won’t be long.”

  Mike grabbed his crossbow and climbed aboard the bus. I grabbed mine and watched the women go into the garage and close the door quietly. I really had a great wife. I climbed aboard and started the bus. After closing the passenger door we were off.

  “After what happened today, I want to take another look around the neighborhood. We have different eyes than we did this morning.”

  “You think there’s other groups out there like the one that hit us?” Mike asked.

  “I’m sure there are somewhere. I just want to see who’s close by. We might find other survivors or we might find more enemies. But, we need to find them before they find us.”

  There were 2 main roads in the neighborhood and they were connected by about 3 cross streets. We drove slowly up and down every one of them. Most houses looked vacant. There were about 30 zombies that we saw. Most of them were milling about singly but a few were in groups of 2 or 3. I ignored all of them but went by slowly so the kids could get a good look from the safety of the bus. If the zombies weren’t otherwise occupied they staggered after the bus for a bit. We found one house where the door was wide open and a car was in the ditch out front. Two zombies were eating what had been the driver of the car just outside the vehicle on the ground.

  “That couldn’t have happened but a few minutes ago,” I said. “Keep your eyes open.”

  We all looked around for someone that was living, but
saw nothing.

  “Maybe we should beep the horn?” said Tabby.

  “That’ll bring all the zombies,” said Mike.

  “Yeah, but we can get away quickly in the bus,” I said. “Open a few of the windows so we can hear someone yelling for us.”

  I gave them a chance to open a couple of windows then tapped the horn. Both zombies looked up but quickly went back to their meal. One or two zombies appeared from a yard down the road and started to shamble in our direction. Then a voice came over the radio.

  “You guys okay? We heard the horn.” It was Karen. I had almost forgotten I had given her a radio.

  “You guys heard that all the way at the house?” I asked. “We’re several blocks away.”

  “Yeah, we heard it over here,” said Sam who had probably snatched the radio out of Karen’s hands. “Sound really travels when the world ends. But, we asked if you were okay.”

  “Relax, honey we’re fine. We found a fresh victim and wanted to see if there was anyone hiding that we could help. But, we don’t see or hear anything other than the damn moaning.”

  “Alright, sorry.”

  “No need to be sorry. We only have a few more streets to cover than we’ll park the bus and head back.”

  “10-4.” Go Sam with the ten code.

  We pulled away after a minute. No one left alive here. Near the other end of the neighborhood Mike spotted smoke coming from a chimney up ahead. I stopped the bus.

  “Well, this is a dilemma,” I said.

  “They might need our help, daddy,” said Tabby.

  “I want to help Tabby. But I have to worry about you guys. It might look like we have a lot of supplies but there are 7 of us.” I almost said 8 of us and caught myself. Was that just a few hours ago? “Those supplies won’t last that long.”

  “Even after what happened today,” said Mike. “I refuse to believe that people aren’t worth helping.”

  I sat in silence for a few moments. No doubt, I was scared. My most important job was taking care of my family and I saw today just how quickly bad shit can happen. If I never saw another living human, I could live with that. But, if I see someone and refuse to help then what am I? I hung my head as I realized that he was right.